While catching the bus home from town I sat next to a man of whom I would base this exercise upon. He was a middle aged, weedy looking man. His hair was short but un-kept, his beard showing signs of a few days stubble. He was sat alone (until I sat next to him) on the top floor of the bus, right at the front, gazing out of the window (strange due to the fact the windows were completely steamed up). It was his demeanor that drew me to him, he was checking his wrist watch very frequently, twitching is facial features each time he did. He looked uncomfortable, uneasy and unable to relax. The cloths he wore were plain, not tatty yet clearly lived in. They didn't look like a works uniform, rather simple dark clothing, from this I assumed either he wasn't coming home from work or his job didn't involve a great deal of responsibility.
From these observations I created a world in which this man would be the main protagonist. For the purpose of this exercise, his name is Neil.
Neil is fifty three. His favorite food is a medium portion of salted chips, accompanied by a portion of mushy peas, a combination he's ritualistically bought from the same local chippy every saturday night for the last fifteen years. Though the owners of the place have been the same throughout this period, no relationship with Neil has ever been built. From time to time during the early years the owners, recognising Neil more and more, tried occasionally to spark conversation but to no avail. He chooses to keep himself to himself. Monday through to Friday, Neil works at a failing, independent model shop, a hobby he adored as a child and never saw the need to grow out of. The scaled down, perfect worlds his models belong to act as momentary escapes of reality. Though he had problems while growing up, its during his early adult life that his current problem showed up. Neil has been under confident his entire life, lacking self respect or the drive to do better he settled down with the first woman show showed an interest in him. Seeing this relationship as potentially the only one he would ever be able to be in, he jumped at the chance of marriage and the hope of a happy life. Sadly for Neil rather than helping him, his wife took advantage of his lack of self esteem, steering it toward her own reward. As the years went by she grew more vindictive and cruel, bullying him, knocking his confident more and more until he was a broken man. By the time the abuse started to become physical Neil was so under her control it was easy for him to feel like he deserved it. This is how life has been for Neil for the last twenty years, living in a state of constant anxiety and fear.
The time of turn around came later that night, the same day I sat next to him on the bus. Knowing that he'd be late home he knew that he'd be in for a rough night, hence his demeanor on the bus. As a punishment of his short comings, his wife had smashed a few of his treasured model trains, her way of teaching him a lesson. As ever, Neil didn't have the confidence to retort and this is how it would have continued for the foreseeable future had it not been for his wife tripping on the fragments of broken trains. She fall back, smacking her head on the corner of the coffee table, killing her instantly.
Neil is now free and much happier for it!
From these observations I created a world in which this man would be the main protagonist. For the purpose of this exercise, his name is Neil.
Neil is fifty three. His favorite food is a medium portion of salted chips, accompanied by a portion of mushy peas, a combination he's ritualistically bought from the same local chippy every saturday night for the last fifteen years. Though the owners of the place have been the same throughout this period, no relationship with Neil has ever been built. From time to time during the early years the owners, recognising Neil more and more, tried occasionally to spark conversation but to no avail. He chooses to keep himself to himself. Monday through to Friday, Neil works at a failing, independent model shop, a hobby he adored as a child and never saw the need to grow out of. The scaled down, perfect worlds his models belong to act as momentary escapes of reality. Though he had problems while growing up, its during his early adult life that his current problem showed up. Neil has been under confident his entire life, lacking self respect or the drive to do better he settled down with the first woman show showed an interest in him. Seeing this relationship as potentially the only one he would ever be able to be in, he jumped at the chance of marriage and the hope of a happy life. Sadly for Neil rather than helping him, his wife took advantage of his lack of self esteem, steering it toward her own reward. As the years went by she grew more vindictive and cruel, bullying him, knocking his confident more and more until he was a broken man. By the time the abuse started to become physical Neil was so under her control it was easy for him to feel like he deserved it. This is how life has been for Neil for the last twenty years, living in a state of constant anxiety and fear.
The time of turn around came later that night, the same day I sat next to him on the bus. Knowing that he'd be late home he knew that he'd be in for a rough night, hence his demeanor on the bus. As a punishment of his short comings, his wife had smashed a few of his treasured model trains, her way of teaching him a lesson. As ever, Neil didn't have the confidence to retort and this is how it would have continued for the foreseeable future had it not been for his wife tripping on the fragments of broken trains. She fall back, smacking her head on the corner of the coffee table, killing her instantly.
Neil is now free and much happier for it!
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